Five Backyard Wedding Food Ideas
One of the most relaxed, comfortable places that you can host your wedding is in a backyard. Often this will be your own, or it could be at a family members’ or a rented home. As long as you have an open space, it doesn’t matter. It’s more about the people than anything else when it comes to your big day. No matter which it is, a backyard wedding can create a wonderful celebratory vibe for your fun and casual wedding.
Having a backyard wedding can help you save money if you’re looking for a more affordable wedding (and we all know there are many expenses for your wedding day, especially wedding venues). When you’re doing your wedding planning (wedding reception, wedding menu ideas and wedding meals, wedding drinks, music, all of it), try to come up with things that go well with an outdoors wedding placed in your backyard, there are many options.
To take your backyard wedding to the next level, you need to add a little creative flair to your decor, settings, lighting and (most importantly) food. A backyard wedding can be transformed from casual to British chic, at any budget. You just need to get a little creative and embrace your theme throughout the whole day. Here are some great food ideas to make your backyard wedding extra special.
Five Backyard Wedding Food Ideas
Festive Picnic
If you’re having your wedding in the summer, you can have a relaxed outdoor picnic setting that not only looks stunning but can also bring down the cost of your catering. To organize it, talk to the people that’ll be catering your wedding. Ask your caterers for food that can be prepared offsite and in advance like sandwiches, wraps and fresh salads. These can be piled up on long trestle tables alongside grazing platters for hors d’oeuvres and wedding desserts. Get long wooden boards and fill them with cheese, crackers, cold cut meats, and grapes. Then for dessert swap them out for brownies, cookies, donuts, or a different wedding dessert of your choice. One table can hold both your wedding cake and punch. Simple, delicious food doesn’t have to be boring and can bring picnic vibes to your special day. You can even have different mini food stations, to keep it interesting for your guests. Another great way to elevate your picnic theme, is to have those cute picnic table settings with pillows, for a non-formal wedding.
Food Truck Rodeo
There are so many great parts of having food trucks at your wedding. They’re all set up to prep, cook and serve everything from their truck, meaning they won’t be in your kitchen trying to get things ready. You can also get a great variety for your guests, which might be tough for some caterers who specialize in certain cuisines. Want grilled cheese and gelato? Get two trucks! Want to get tacos too? Get a third truck! As long as you’ve got space, you can get as many trucks as your heart desires. Tthis is also great for less traditional food options for a wedding, such as burgers, fries, burritos, mac and cheese, pancakes, ice cream, etc. This can create a great casual atmosphere with your guests being able to eat when it suits them, rather than a formal sit down dinner. If your style is more of a laid-back type of thing, this can be the perfect thing for you. Plus, if you’re foodies, you can bring more interesting food choices tp your wedding day with these food trucks, since sit-down wedding menus eliminate a lot of delicious options just because they’re not formal.
Casual Potluck
A great way to include your wedding guests in your day and to cut back on the cost of your wedding is to invite your guests to bring a plate for everyone to share. That’s a great way to have a more affordable wedding, and save money not only with your wedding venue, but with your wedding meals as well. You may wish you divide your guests into snacks, mains and desserts to ensure that you have a balance across the courses. Some people may get more specific and ask for a “salad” or a “cake” to still give your guests freedom to cook what they like but you’ll have an idea of what you’ll be serving. Also, ask your guests what they would like to bring as most people will have a favorite dish that they love to pull out for special occasions.
State Fair
Have you got your bunting and your photo booth ready for your state fair themed wedding? Make sure you continue this delightfully fun theme through to your food as well. You can do paper bags of popcorn for when you’re guests first arrive or the last thing at night when people need some energy to keep dancing. Look at food trucks in your area that do great hotdogs or corn dogs. A simple treat that everyone will enjoy. And for the kids, definitely make sure you’ve got some cotton candy on site. Their parents might not appreciate the amount of sugar, but the kids will have a great time! If you want to do DIY wedding food, you can do it this way as well, because fair food is easy to do yourself, or at least prep it and get someone to continue when it starts. If you run out of fair-themed wedding menu ideas, just visit a fair when you see one is happening, and recreate your favorite foods from there!
English Countryside
Embrace a very British afternoon and treat our guests to afternoon tea and bubbles instead of a traditional wedding breakfast. Serve cucumber sandwiches, Victoria sponge cakes and scones with fresh cream and jam. To make it more on the theme, get tiered tea serving trays, where you can add a layer of each for your guests. They will work their way through at their own pace, relaxing and enjoying the food. You’ll want plenty of bottles of bubbles to go around too. You can do your speeches while people are eating as you won’t have catering staff constantly putting down or clearing plates.